ABSTRACT
THE AGE of the Antonines was in a sense a golden age for the art of speech. If little that was said was of any value, seldom in human history have so many words been uttered in public and seldom has the spoken word been so highly honoured. It was the age of the so-called Second Sophistic, of those virtuosi described by Philostratus, who travelled round from city to city, charming their audiences with their displays and winning for themselves applause and honour, statues and privileges.
